What Is YorubaFAST?

Learning a second language can be fun but challenging. With a tonal language like Yoruba (which relies heavily on the inflection of one’s voice), it can be even more daunting. If you are self learner, practicing and understanding the inflection of the voice can be difficult to master on your own. And without the right motivation, you might get discouraged. Introducing YorubaFAST! With our unique style of teaching and immersion, we help you learn to speak Yoruba quickly by teaching in situational contexts. Sure you need to know the alphabets and numbers but that’s not the natural way to learn a language. Toddlers learn word and sentences in context and then build on it. That is what we do. We show you how to navigate certain everyday situations and then build on those.

Who needs YorubaFAST?

YorubaFAST is perfect for:

Travelers (especially those travelling to Southwestern States of Nigeria)

First Generation Nigerian-Americans (perhaps your parents speak but you don’t)

Yoruba Spouses (are you married to a Yoruba person?)

Friends (Friends of Yoruba folks)

Everyone! (be a well-rounded global citizen)

Why YorubaFAST?

Our mission is to immerse our students in basic Yoruba language that is essential for everyday conversations with friends, relatives, or in business settings (that requires the use of the language). With YorubaFAST, learners stay motivated to learn because our curriculum is designed to be highly interactive and engaging. Our teachers are native speakers who understand the culture and therefore are able to convey it when teaching. As a result, our students are equipped with confidence to utilize what they have learned in proper context.

The YorubaFAST Approach

We are not a conventional classroom. We are not formal academia. Our approach can be considered “situational and contextual” learning. We pride ourselves in having a "natural" approach. How do you learn a language naturally? To us, this means teaching and learning in context. We use real-life scenarios, situations and examples as the basis of our program instead of theories. For example, to teach you about Yoruba food, we will simulate scenarios of buying/selling food, eating food, cooking food, serving foods, etc instead of making you learn alphabets first and then giving you a list of foods. It is by doing and learning in the same context that you live that you will truly learn and it becomes second nature.

Our Teaching Technique

Our curriculum is developed based on recommendation of the Indiana University's renowned National African Language Resource Center & Institute for African Language Instructors.

Current YorubaFAST Class Levels:

Beginner Level 1 / Novice 1

Beginner Level 2 / Novice 2

Intermediate 1

Intermediate 2

Beginner Level 1 / Novice 1Students are introduced to the basic blocks of sentence creation in Yoruba. Students will learn how to greet depending on the situation, understand the difference between formal and informal greetings, learn to introduce themselves, make a request, ask questions and answer questions. They will learn commonly used verbs, noun and words in the context of daily living. Topics include greeting, time of day, food and daily activities. Perfect for novice speakers. Beginner Level 2 / Novice 2In addition to knowledge acquired from Beginner Level 1 above, students will be comfortable with the pronunciation of special letters such as P, Gb, and Ṣ. Students will start learning to write in Yoruba and to properly place accent on vowels to give words appropriate tone. Topics will be more in-depth focus on time of day, food and daily activities. Admission into Beginner level 2 is predicated on successful completion of Beginner Level 1 or ability to hold short conversations in Yoruba.

CAKE African Village is a 501(c)3 Non-profit Organization based in Illinois. Our staff is located within United States of America but we accepts students worldwide. To reach us, please send an email to us from the CONTACT US page and we will respond within 24 to 48 hours.